Nanny Natsu
by freestyler901
Summary: Once again, Natsu's stupidity gave rise to Lucy's misfortune. Her four year old self was sent to the world that she was currently living in while she simply vanished.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Note: **This is a short story, spanning about a few chapters as Lucy would remain as a child for a short period only, probably about 3 days or 5 days at the maximum. Anyway, enjoy and give feedback please! Thank you.

* * *

" HAPPY! We did it again!" Natsu shouted as he gave Happy a high-five which the blue cat mimicked by saying " Aye, Sir!"

"Yeah, you sure did a lot of damage as usual. JUST LOOK AT THE FOREST!" Lucy exclaimed and sighed despondently at the thought of paying for the damages. Why was she stuck with two idiots in the middle of a forest, or rather what was left of it, when she had better things to do such as shopping for more clothes which were constantly being destroyed, courtesy to Natsu. _Oh right, her rent. THE 70 000J rent. _Apart from the rent, she still had to earn some money to cover her daily expenses such as food which was always in short supply, courtesy to both Natsu and Happy. Thus, she had to take on another mission- capturing bandits who abused their magic by robbing people who passed through the particular forest which they were in. It was a simple task as the bandits were weak and disorganised. They were easily separated and Happy even managed to knock one unconscious. Natsu, however, had no patience to search for them so he burnt the forest to force them out of their hiding places. By the time Lucy defeated her share of thieves and found Natsu, he had practically burnt a pathway through the forest.

" WOW! LUCY, LOOK! There's a pathway through the forest! Now, we don't have to walk through the thorny bushes anymore. If only I have seen it earlier, what a smooth journey we would have taken!" Natsu shouted in glee as he looked at Lucy and pointed at the pathway simultaneously.

" I don't even know where to start about your obliviousness!"

" Huh? Lucy, look at this!", Natsu exclaimed excitedly as he showed Lucy a piece of purple paper that had flown into his hand.

" Argh, I don't even want to open my eyes right now." , Lucy grumbled at the image of the path of ashes that she would see if she were to open her eyes.

" Then, I shall read to you! dsafknlmlsdkfienfjngk. nkjnfnfiweplooifmks. fsoqxpghnbjk. HUH? WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN? " Natsu pulled his hair in frustration while Happy simply sat on his shoulder, pondering over the words. Just as Lucy was about to reply, a blue mist appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the trio. A strong mixture of floral scent came along with it but it was so pungent that it irritated the noses of all three of them, especially Natsu, since he had a strong sense of smell. Within seconds, they had broken into coughing fits as the choking scent flowed through their nostrils and down their throats. Happy, who was still on Natsu's shoulder, made a futile attempt to scan for his blonde friend through the blue fog. Unfortunately, the fog was too thick to even see Natsu. Finally, Happy managed to gather his voice after numerous bouts of coughing fits, " LUCY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

" LUCY, CAN YOU HEAR US? ANSWER US!" Natsu shouted anxiously as he joined in the search for their blonde friend. After a minute, the fog and its accompanying scent started to fade slowly, enabling Natsu to locate Lucy's new position through his sense of smell.

" Natsu, is Lucy near us?", Happy asked worriedly as he tried to scan through the last bit of blue fog hovering below Natsu's waist.

" She should be here. I can't be wrong but there's no sign of her!", Natsu replied. _Where could she be? _Just as Natsu started to doubt whether he had recovered his sense of smell, he heard a cough. Strangely though, it came from below. _Ah! Lucy must be lying or sitting on the ground. _With that, he shouted her name happily.

" LUCY!"

Now that the blue fog had almost faded, he could clearly see her blonde hair but _where was the red ribbon that she tied her hair with today? _He had remembered it distinctively because it matched her brand new red skirt that she was wearing which she had excitedly showed off to Natsu in the morning.

As the fog disappeared, Natsu and Happy could only gasped in horror as Lucy was revealed to them slowly. This was because...

in Lucy's place stood a child, no taller than Natsu's hips,_ in fact,_ she's only a head taller than Happy. Her blonde hair was tied into two French braids. Each was secured with with two tiny red balls and she wore a navy blue dress with a white ribbon sown on the neckline of her dress and a pair of black flats. Lucy, or rather tiny little Lucy tilted her head to the side and stared curiously at the boy with pink hair and a blue cat in front of her who had opened their mouths in the shape of an ' O'. Their expressions were a mixture of shock and horror, though it comprised more of the latter. Finally, she mustered up her courage and asked,

" Whooo...are you? Annnd hooow do you knooow my name?"


	2. Day 1 Part I

Author's Note: Hi! Thank you for your reviews. I really appreciate them. Anyway, enjoy and of course, R&R! Thank you!

P.S: May I know how do I double spce the lines? Everytime I double space them, it changes to single line spacing.

CherryChan09: Well, the paper simply flew into his hands! As for its origins, read on (fyi, it's not mentioned in this chapter) and you'll find out!

* * *

" Whooo...are you? Annnd hooow do you knooow my name?"

Though little Lucy was terrified of being in an unknown place with strangers no less, she could deduce that the pair standing in front of her seemed to be more afraid of her than she was of them. The blue cat which was perched on the boy's shoulder had fallen off sideways onto the ground and was trying unsuccessfully to stand on its shaky legs. The boy, who had a piece of paper in his hand, was trembling too. Though he was still standing, his legs were bent forward slightly, as though he was about to fall and join his cat on the ground anytime.

Seeing the pair has yet to answer her question, Little Lucy tried to remember how she ended up in the middle of the forest but wasn't able to think of any logical explanation. The whole incident/situation seemed ridiculous anyway. Why was there even a path of _ashes_ through the forest? It couldn't be a dream since she could feel the cotton material of her dress when she clenched it in her fists.

All she could recall was that she was on her way to her nursery to have a "time-out" session meted out by her mean governess. Earlier on, she had threw a tantrum when the maids told her that her  
parents had left her alone again to attend some business meeting cum ball event which would last approximately a week.

The thought of her governess made her blood boil. Subconsciously, Lucy had started frowning and was giving the pair standing in front of her an intense glare. It was then she realised…

"AHHHHHHHHHH! "

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

The trio screamed together.

* * *

Natsu and Happy had practically screamed at the same time. Lucy, on the other hand, screamed because the pair had screamed. It was one of those unexplainable, weird situations where you scream upon hearing others' even though there weren't any causes or reasons. It was more of a natural reaction where you simply had to scream due to the fear or shock of the unknown.

" Luuu….Luuu…child…child…oh my..Lu…shit…." As evident, Natsu wasn't capable of forming a coherent sentence. Sadly, his feline friend wasn't faring any better than he was. All that came out of his mouth was a bunch of gibberish but it was along the lines of " Lu…Lu…Luuu….ccy".

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHH! "

This time, however, it was Lucy who screamed first and the two simply followed suit.

* * *

" A STUFF TOY! AND IT TALKS!" Lucy screamed in glee as she pulled Happy and gave him a bone-crushing hug. Earlier on, she was already jumping for joy when she spotted the blue stuff kitty as it was so adorable. Lucy had never seen a _blue_ cat in her entire toy collection which explained her fascination. But when it spoke and even called her name, Lucy was so excited that she screamed.

" THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" , Natsu shouted as he pulled his hair in horror, causing Lucy to look at him for a moment before she decided to ignore him and turn her attention back to the kitty in her arms.

Unfortunately for Happy, the impact of the hug was so hard that air was practically knocked out of his lungs. He couldn't breathe and was desperately grasping for air. Hissing and sucking sounds came out of his mouth.

Suddenly, Lucy spun him around roughly such that his back was facing her. She dug into his fur, lifted his tail and arms before spinning him again to face her.

" Where's your battery? I can't find it", Lucy mumbled to herself as she scrutinized Happy's body once again.

" Hmmmm….Whatever." , Lucy hugged Happy tightly again, causing the cat to struggle for his life.

" AHHHHHHH! THAT'S NOT THE POINT! YOU'RE A CHILD, LUCY! A CHILD! Oh my god, what happened? Happy! Happy! Oh my, oh my, you're not breathing! You can't faint now! Happy!", Natsu shrieked as he pulled Happy out of Lucy's arms. " Lucy, stop hugging him! He can't breathe!"

Happy coughed as he breathed in fresh air.

" A spellll. It hasss….tooo bbe aaa spp…ell. ", Happy tried his best to talk even though he was coughing and breathing simultaneously.

" A spell? Huh? When?"

" Theee paper inn yourrr haaandss. Loook at iiit."

That was what he was reading before this happened. Immediately after he finished the sentence, the blue fog appeared, along with a strange scent and then Lucy became like this…_So the lines are A SPELL? Where the hell did I get this anyway? It just flew into my hand. What have I done? _Natsu thought as he stared at Lucy in horror.

The paper!

" AHHHHH! What should I do? Happy! Happy! What should I do?"

" I don't know…" The blue cat had finally recovered his breath.

" Think, Happy, think! You're smart! I know you can do it!"

" Natsu, I'm not Levy! I can't rewrite or undo spells!"

" LEVY! She can undo this spell!" Both Natsu and Happy said as they came to the same conclusion.

" But…but…Happy, may be if we wait till tomorrow, Lucy will be back to normal! That's what happened for the angeline spell! Arghhh...I don't want to go back. Erza will_ kill_ us when she finds Lucy like this! "

" Natsu, it's the changeling spell and it has a time limit, remember? What if this one has a time limit too? If we do not change her back within the time given, Lucy will be permanently like this! Erza will probably _kill _and _eat _our corpses. " Happy paled at the image of a bloodthirsty Erza that his imagination invented. Suddenly, he remembered Erza was on an errand!

" Natsu, we need to return to Fairy Tail as soon as possible. Master has sent Erza out of town on an errand. She would probably be back by tomorrow afternoon. We have to change Lucy back to normal by then or…or…else…."

Natsu and Happy shrieked at the thought of Erza.

" Let's go, Happy!"

" Aye, Sir!"

They turned to Lucy but she was glaring at Natsu. Her bottom lips quivered and tears welled up in her eyes. Suddenly, Lucy burst into tears. Her body was wracked with sobs and sniffling sounds could be heard. Lucy didn't want to cry but she couldn't control her anger. She had a bad day, found a magical toy but _this pink haired boy_ had to snatch it away and _ignored_ her completely while talking to _her _new kitty.

" Argh, don't cry Lucy!" Natsu pleaded as he knelt down to her height. He couldn't stand people crying especially girls, not to mention kids. " Don't cry…uh…uh…I can perform magic!" He breathed fire into her face which obviously frightened Lucy, causing her to wail louder.

Happy, like Natsu, was at a loss of what to do. " I can perform magic too! I…uh…fly. Uh…do you want a fish? " Happy said as he joined Natsu in his efforts to stop the blonde from crying. His wings sprouted from his back and he flew right and left while holding a fish in front of Lucy.

Miraculously, Lucy stopped her cries. She pounced on Happy, causing the cat to drop the fish and grasp for air again. " You can fly! How wonderful!"

" No, let go of Happy. He can't breathe!" Natsu said as he attempted to save Happy. However, as soon as he pulled Happy away, Lucy resumed her crying.

" Arghhh, take it! Take it!" Natsu shoved Happy into Lucy's arms.

" Nooo, Naaaaatsu…..sa….savee…meee!" Happy tried to reach out his paw to Natsu.

Seeing Happy's pathetic state and hearing his desperate pleas, Natsu decided to help him. He pulled Happy away from Lucy who responded by wailing louder. Natsu immediately shoved Happy back to Lucy and she stopped crying.

So he attempted to pull Happy again.

And Lucy cried so he had to give up. Immediately, Lucy stopped her cries. Thus, Natsu repeated the process but each time he took away Happy, Lucy cried. Finally, Lucy gave up and simply screamed. Afraid that Natsu would steal her kitty again, she hugged Happy much tighter than before. Poor Happy could only make gurgling noises.

" Oi oi oi, I'm not taking Happy away. Just give him a little space to breathe…hold him like this, don't hug him round his neck." Natsu reassured Lucy as he repositioned her arms on Happy such that the cat could finally breathe.

" But he's a toy! He doesn't need to breathe."

" What are you talking about? He's a real cat! And he's my cat so I'm not letting him of suffocation."

" But he's _blue. _Why is he your cat? What does suffo-cat mean? Who are you and why am I here? " Lucy had sensed that Natsu was a good person since he didn't do anything bad besides stealing her cat away so she fired away all her questions at once. Somehow, she felt at ease with the two of them. The cat struggled out of her arms so she had no choice but to let it go. However, she held onto its paw while it hovered in the air, breathing loudly.

" Uhhh…because…." Natsu was stumped by Lucy's round of questions. He stammered for a while until Happy spoke up.

" Who said that cats can't be blue? Natsu found me so I'm his cat. The word is suffocation. It is an act of causing someone to die due to insufficient oxygen. THAT'S A CRIME, YOU KNOW?" Happy said and repeated the last sentence in the same tone which Lucy used on Natsu and him when they barged into her apartment for the first time. _What an impressive speech he made! _Happy thought proudly as he remembered how Lucy had managed to strike fear in them until Lucy asked….

" Why?"

Well, so much for his impressive speech. Happy could only mutter softly to Natsu,

" I thought Lucy was stupid back then but this is worse…"

* * *

" I'm in a dream? But I can feel Happy's fur and it's soft. Mama said that nightmares would only be real if you could physically feel your surroundings."

" Arghhh, Lucy, stop asking questions!" Natsu groaned in frustration while Happy said "Aye!" in an exhausting manner.

Both Natsu and Happy were tired of answering her endless questions, especially the ones which started with whys. They tried to explain to her how she landed in the future but that made them sound crazy so she simply laughed it off. Then, she asked them why wasn't she a grownup if she's in the future. Happy replied that the seventeen year old Lucy had probably switched places with her four year self (_though there's a possibility Lucy that she ends up nowhere or somewhere weird like a toilet bowl, Erza's closet and so on.) _However, telling a four year old that there's another grown up replica of her only added onto her current state of confusion. Thus, Little Lucy fired her whys again which drove the pair crazy until Happy finally cracked and said that it's all a dream.

" Okay, what are we going to do? Oh…oh…let's play! Happy and I shall hide while Natsu seek us! " Lucy shrieked excitedly while jumping up and down holding Happy's paws, yanking the cat along with her.

" No." Natsu said firmly. Lucy stopped her jumping, much to Happy's relief and frowned at Natsu.

" Why?" Lucy started her round of whys again.

" Arrrggh. Stop asking whys. We need to send you back to the past so we…" Before Natsu could even finish his sentence, Lucy started her bawling again. Happy who was confused, asked,

" Lucy, don't you want to go home?"

" Noooooo" Lucy wiped her tears and sniffled.

" Why?" Now, it was Happy's turn to ask whys.

" Well…Mama and Papa will be away for a week so they won't realise I'm missing and I don't want to face my governess. She's meeeeeeean".

Natsu knew how upset Lucy could get whenever she thought of her family. Firstly, her dad took priority in his business over her and her mum had died at an early age. He never asked her about her family since it was a sensitive issue but he would always be there to support her emotionally. In a strange way, deep in his heart, he knew that he's relying on her support as well to cope with Igneel's mysterious disappearance.

As unfortunate as it was, he was selfishly glad to have Lucy to cry with him( though he doesn't cry in front of Lucy) on the seventh day of every seventh month. He hadn't realised that Lucy's mother died on the same day that Igneel left. He only realised it when he smelt the tears on Lucy's pillow. On that particular day, he was extremely depressed, walked round town several times until he ended up at Lucy's place unknowingly. He wasn't sure what he was doing when he broke into her apartment again but apparently, Lucy was awake and shouted at him for barging in. She then ran and locked herself in the bathroom before apologising (even though she's still in the bathroom) profusely for her outburst. However, Natsu could tell that she was upset as she sounded as if she was choking. Out of concern for Lucy, Natsu broke down her door and found her crying on the floor.

It was at the very moment Lucy hugged Natsu and simply cried.

And it was the very night Lucy told him that her mother died on that day and a bit about her lonely childhood…

Now that her four year old self was standing in front of him, may be…just may be…if he could make her the happiest kid for a period of time before she returned to her parents, then Lucy wouldn't feel as lonely as before. Thus, if he's sending her back, he could at least make the journey back to Fairy Tail a fun one.

" Hmmmm….how about we go on an adventure?" Natsu grinned at Lucy while Happy stared at him in confusion.

" You're not sending me back anymore?" Lucy pleaded.

" Nope."

" Okay, your plan sounds fun but where should we go?"

" Fairy Tail! It is a great place full of magicians!" Natsu grinned at Lucy. Happy, on hearing Fairy Tail as their destination, thought that Natsu was tricking Lucy so that she would go with them back to the guild without any verbal protest. He joined in their enthusiasm with his famous line " Aye, Sir!"

The trio set off for Fairy Tail with Little Lucy skipping while holding Natsu's and Happy's hands.


	3. Day 1 Part II

**Author's Note:** I know I haven't been updating but that's due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was disappointed in the number of reviews. The story stats was increasing in every section (alerts, favourites etc) but the reviews were really pathetic in number so I moped about for a week. Then, in the second week, I wrote probably a few paragraphs before I decided to read and watch Rave Master suddenly. That took me a week but it was well worth it! I'm totally in love with Rave Master :D Too bad that there's so fics in that section. Anyway, enough with my rants. R&R!

Wish you all a happy belated Christmas and an early Happy New Year!

* * *

" Natsu, are we there yet? I'm tired." Lucy asked as she rubbed her eyes.

" Gaaah, I have been carrying you since we're out of the forest. How can you be tired? And I'm carrying Happy too." Natsu grumbled as he looked at the pair in his arms. Natsu was carrying Lucy and in her arms, was Happy sleeping and mumbling " fish, fish" with a look of pure contentment. Lucy had finally given up her notion of Happy as a stuffed kitty and apologised to it. She had kindly offered to carry Happy. As much as he was afraid of her killer hugs, Happy simply couldn't pass on his chance of snuggling in Lucy's arms.

Within five minutes later though, Lucy complained that she was tired and stopped walking to emphasize her point so Natsu had no choice but to carry her. Thus, it resulted in Natsu carrying the both of them with one sleeping and the other dozing on and off.

" WE'RE HERE!" Natsu shouted suddenly causing Lucy and Happy to jerk awake.

" Aye!" Happy said as he flew out of Lucy's arms.

" Let's go and find Levy!" Natsu said enthusiastically. He was about to open the doors until Happy grabbed his scarf and pulled him backwards, choking him in the process.

" Natsu, I indeed said that Erza is out on an errand but that doesn't mean that she wouldn't find out from other members. We have to hide Lucy!"

_I haven't thought of that! This is so troublesome. _Natsu realised in horror. " But how we going to hide Lucy?"

" Ah, we can use your cape** ( the red one that he had on in episode one of the anime)** to make a makeshift bag and wrap Lucy up! That way, we can say that we packed a lot of stuff for our mission. It's less suspicious, don't you think so?" Happy suggested.

" Good idea, Happy!" Natsu put Lucy down and took off his cape.

" Lucy, come and stand on the cape." Natsu said as he held onto two opposite ends of his cape.

" But why are you wrapping me up?" Lucy asked.

" Because before we could bring you to the wizards, we have to pass through a dangerous path. There's a huge and morbid dog that likes to eat metal and…."

By the time Happy finished telling his lies to keep her quiet, Lucy was cowering in fear and promptly agreed to be wrapped up.

* * *

" LEVY, WE MISSED YOU! WHERE ARE YOU? " Natsu shouted as he kicked the doors open.

" Aye!"

Suddenly, the whole guild was silent and turned to look at the pair. The current situation was simply too strange for them not to stop whatever they're doing to look at them. What was weird was that Natsu, _for once_, entered the guild without starting a fight and instead openly declared that he missed his nakama.

" Ermmm…I'm here?" Levy stared at them in confusion.

" Aye! Levy, we missed you soooo much. You have to come with us." Happy flew towards her and grabbed her arm. However before he could pull her towards Natsu, Gajeel came out of nowhere and  
stood in front of Natsu and incidentally, blocked their path.

" Oi, salamander, you have no business with Levy until you finish the fight that you started this morning." Gajeel shouted.

" No wonder you're made of metal, you're so dense. I ask for Levy, not you and I have no time to fight with you today!" Everyone stared at Natsu because he _never _passes up a fight. Even Gajeel was at a loss of words.

Gray then mysteriously showed up beside Natsu, ordering him to shut up until he spotted the huge bundle behind Natsu.

" Oi, flame brain, what do you have in your bundle?" Gray demanded.

" Exhibitionist, put on your clothes before you talk. Anyway, that's none of your business too."

" Bunny girl?" Gajeel said to no one in particular as he sniffed the air around Natsu and his bag. From the look of Natsu's and Happy's face, his guess must been correct but he couldn't understand why they looked so shocked and horrified. Wait a minute…how could bunny girl possibly fit into such a small bag? And Gray was right, the bag was indeed shaking!

Before Gajeel could contemplate further, Natsu had dashed across him and grabbed Levy. Unfortunately for Natsu, Gajeel had pretty good reflexes so he simply stretched out his iron leg the moment  
Natsu tried to dash past him again.

Natsu tripped. His knees bent forward while his arms swung backwards. He had let go of the bag such that it was tossed high in the air. Since Natsu didn't tie the four ends of his cape( he simply grabbed all the four ends), the makeshift bag slowly unwrapped itself and revealed a blonde child. Poor Lucy started to fall and everyone was too shocked to react except for Natsu. As Natsu was still on the ground from his fall, he crawled _backwards_ and thankfully, just in time to catch Lucy who landed on his stomach.

Happy flew to Lucy and was relieved that she wasn't hurt. Lucy stood up shakily and hugged Happy, burying her face into his fur.

Everyone gasped and stared at the trio in stunned silence until Mirajane called out cheerfully.

" Welcome back! How was your mission?"

" THAT'S NOT THE POINT! LUCY'S A CHILD!" Everyone shouted.

By this time, everyone had gathered around them and was staring at Lucy curiously. Some were hanging their mouths open while others were covering their mouths. A few scratched their heads and couple were bending down to Lucy's height level.

" Lucy-chan?"

" Bunny girl?"

" She's really into cosplay…"

" Lucy's…a child…you guys are sooo over! There go my hopes of Lucy and Natsu…" Mirajane wailed out and covered her eyes with her hands. Standing beside her was Lisanna who was trying her best to remind her that they didn't have any relationship to begin with.

" MIRAJANE, THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Everyone shouted again.

Under everyone's intense stare, Lucy felt so uncomfortable and frightened that she had totally forgotten the correct way of holding Happy. She squeezed the poor cat tighter and tighter _around the neck_ as the crowd closed in on her. Lucy trembled in fear when she noticed a few intimidating people amongst the crowd.

One, the extremely tall guy with tons of piercings and a porcupine hairstyle.

Two, the guy standing on her far left had two green antennas. Lucy wasn't sure whether he's an alien or a grasshopper turned human. If werewolves could do it, why couldn't grasshoppers? Either option was frightening anyway.

Three, a Frankenstein lookalike who had white hair and a scar but what was really terrifying was that one of his arms was extremely large and black.

Before she could even utter a cry, five wooden dolls flew to her and surrounded her, chanting " oh my, a child, a child, a child!" repeatedly. Lucy looked up only to see another creepy guy with his tongue hanging out. May be she should just drop dead and hopefully, they would just leave her alone. Sadly, she didn't even have the strength to fall to the ground. Her legs just couldn't move!

All she could do was to hide behind Happy. The closer the crowd moved towards her, the more she buried her face into his back.

" Baaack oof…gah,ah, baaak oof everyone…arrgh, Luu…cy, let goo." Happy pleaded to both Lucy and the crowd. He heaved a sigh of relief when he felt Lucy's hands shifting down to his stomach though her hug was still as tight but at least, he could breathe!

" Oi, Flame-brain, what have you done this time?"

" NATSU, do you know how much effort I've putting to get you guys together? And now, you turn her like this….ALL MY EFFORTS ARE WASTED!" Mirajane burst out in anger.

_Aren't we already and always together?_ Natsu thought. However, he decided that he shouldn't voice out his thoughts since Mirajane was looking extremely demonic, probably on the verge of leashing out Satan Soul on him.

Before he could explain, a distinct commanding voice barked out.

" What's going on?"

Erza the Titania had returned and standing beside her was Master Marakov.

"KYAAAAAAAA!" Both Natsu and Happy screamed at the same time.

* * *

The crowd dispersed in such a way that they no longer surrounded Lucy but rather, were standing on her left and right, making way for both Erza and the master. Master Marakov looked as if he was having a heart attack, clutching his chest with his mouth agape but no words came forth. A mixture of shock and horror was evident in his face.

" Lucy?" Erza asked as she walked up to her.

Natsu immediately dashed and made an unsuccessful attempt of hiding behind Lucy. Well, at least, he couldn't see Erza's face and neither could she see his! Lucy, however, was curious and sensing that she wasn't swarmed by anyone, felt that it was safe to peek from behind Happy's back. Furthermore, she had Natsu behind her so that would definitely raise her safety to a new level.

All it took was a glance and Lucy was captivated by her beauty. The girl had long flowing red tresses which were swept by the wind to the side. However, she was clad in armour, which in her opinion, was the only weird point that she could pick out. Well, at least, she looked normal unlike most of the others. _Wouldn't it be great if I have a pretty friend like her?_ Lucy thought as she admired the redhead. If only she could make friends with her like what she did with Natsu and Happy!

However, seeing that the redhead was staring at her, Lucy retreated behind Happy's head again. This time however, Lucy lifted Happy as high as she possibly could, thinking that Erza would be overjoyed to receive the feline as a friendship gift.

And that made Happy only a few inches away from Erza's face because she had bent down to take a closer inspection.

Happy trembled in fear and was sweating profusely. He wanted to scream but no sound came out of his mouth.

" NATSU, HAPPY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO LUCY?" The titania shouted in his face.

_That's it. I'm going to die. _Happy thought until he saw Erza whipping out her latest sword- one that was infused with magic and rumoured to cut through rocks, metals and almost everything with just a touch.

" KYAAAAA….NOT THE SWORD! NOT THE SWORD! NO VIOLENCE IN FRONT OF CHILDREN!"

* * *

" I swear, with my life that I'm telling the truth. I really have no idea that reading the paper would end up like this!" Natsu pleaded to everyone.

" Aye, I swear too with all my fishes! I wouldn't let Natsu do that if I had known that this would happen! You think it's fun to hang around a four-year-old who's constantly trying to kill you?" Happy couldn't believe his luck as he recalled the countless time that he could've died. Hugs, hugs and then more hugs before she threw him to Erza. Fortunately, Erza didn't attack them because if she did, she would have hit Lucy too so for now, the pair had deduced that they would be safe as long as they stood next to Lucy.

" Hmmm…" was the collective response from the crowd who heard their explanations.

" Levy, can you solve it?" Erza asked the blue hair mage who was browsing ferociously through a book.

" Hmmm...ahh!" Levy nodded.

" So?"

" Natsu, Happy, you're so lucky! I can't believe your luck. It's an ancient spell and it could only be found in Mashiku, the book of spells compiled by the renowned magician, Sieg Hart who died so many years ago! You know, the book was showcased in Fiore's magic museum last week but only very powerful mages were allowed to view the book from afar…from afar mind you, and you…you had it in your hands!" Levy rambled enthusiastically.

" AND I HAVE IT IN MY HANDS TOO!" Levy screamed in glee.

Both Natsu and Happy stared at her.

" LUCKY? LUCY'S A CHILD….CHANGE HER BACK PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU." Natsu bowed in front of Levy. Happy imitated his actions with wails of "Aye, aye, aye"

" SHUT UP." The titania shouted, causing the pair to keep quiet. Natsu retreated behind Lucy immediately. Lucy had gotten over her fear of strangers since no one attacked her. The grasshopper, the dolls and porcupine guy weren't anywhere near, the Frankenstein had changed back to a normal human being and her new friend, Erza smiled at her! She simply sat there hugging Happy happily and the cat was just grateful that at least he was safe from Erza.

" Happy's juicy!" Lucy whispered to herself. The cat had been breaking out in cold sweat.

" It's sweat." Happy whispered back.

" Happy's leaking!" Lucy whispered again into the cat's ears, totally oblivious to her surroundings.

" It's sweat, sweat, sweat!"

" Levy, but that doesn't explain how it ended up in Natsu's hands and why it turned Lucy into a child."

" Well, it was reported in the news that the book was stolen while being transported back to the Magic Council's main library a few days ago. My guess is that the bandits you encountered this morning had this book, though I'm not sure how they could even sneak in given their level of skills…they probably had a mastermind or someone powerful."

" But a spell as old as this, I have no idea how to solve it! It's written in an archaic language. I don't even know how to read this. It's AMAZING that you're able to read it, Natsu." Levy gave Natsu a look of admiration which caused Gajeel to glare at the salamander.

" Anyway, this is only a page of the book so I don't have much information. I happen to know because every page has the same symbol as the one on the book cover. It's just so sad that you only have a page. I guess the book was destroyed so even if there is a solution, I wouldn't know it. May be you could inform the council…"

" THE COUNCIL?" Master Marakov, Natsu, Gray and Happy screamed simultaneously.

" NEVER! If they know about this, they may blame us for stealing the book. After all, we weren't on good terms and that there's no evidence to prove that the robbers you encountered this morning are the culprits." Master Marakov said.

" No, no, we can't inform the council. WE'LL BE DEAD. NO, NO, NO. It was just a simple mission…we didn't expect to turn out like this. Help us, Levy!"

" Aye, please Levy, please." Both Natsu and Happy burst into tears.

" I can't do anything." Levy smiled apologetically.

" Hmmm…" Everyone turned to Erza who was in deep thoughts. " I guess I'll be the one to explain to the council and see what help they could provide. Don't worry, we won't be in trouble. It's clearly their fault for not guarding that book properly. In fact, I will demand compensation from them for causing Lucy to be like this. We can't go on missions so this will definitely affect our incomes."

" Gahhh….this is what you're worried about?" Master Marakov and Gray stared at her.

" Thank you Erza the great! Thank you!" Natsu and Happy chanted at the same time.

" SHUT UP" Erza glared at the two. " Until then, Natsu, Gray and Happy, look after Lucy."

" Why me? I wasn't the one who caused all these troubles." Gray moaned before proceeding to fight with Natsu. " IT WAS THIS IDIOT!"

" WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU ICE PRICK?"

" DO YOU DARE CHALLENGE MY ORDERS? AND NO VULGARITIES IN FRONT OF LUCY." Erza grabbed both Natsu and Gray and smashed their heads together.

" Yes, we understand!"

" Aye!"

" Wow. Happy Number 3!"

* * *

" I didn't know that Lucy is so cute when she was younger." Cana said as she drank from her barrel. " Want some alcohol?" she offered to the girl.

" Cana, Lucy is too young for that. She's only four." Gray said as he grabbed the drink instead. " Argh, I need this. Why am I being punished along with that idiot?" he grumbled, causing Natsu to glare at him.

Cana smiled to herself as she continued drinking. " Poor you, stuck babysitting when you could've been at the stadium. Heard that the Speedie is racing today, never lost a single match…you could've won some money today."

" Stop rubbing it in." Gray took another gulp of his alcohol.

" Not like he…ahh…Gray, your clothes! Lucy, don't look!" Natsu shouted.

" Tch, what made you think I'll look? You guys are so weird." Lucy said before turning her attention back to her tea set that Mirajane had kindly lent to her. " Happy, can you pass a slice of cake to Bobby? He can't reach it." Lucy asked as she gestured to the thin air where 'Bobby' was supposedly sitting.

" Natsu, save me!" Happy wailed. He simply couldn't tolerate Lucy's weirdness which started when she set up her imaginary tea party with imaginary friends. First, she talked to the air. It would have been perfectly fine if she's playing by herself but somehow, he was dragged into the game and now, he had to offer a non-existent cake to a non-existent person.

" Ah!" Natsu suddenly made an interesting discovery as he observed the tea-party scene before him. " So all the times that Lucy's been talking to herself…she…she's actually talking to Bobby! Hmmm….why can't we see him?"

" IDIOT, she's making it up." Gray whispered harshly so that only Natsu could hear and slapped his head.

" WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR? Haha, I know it, you're just jealous that I could see Bobby and you can't. I don't blame you though, having slanty eyes does affect your vision. " Natsu blatantly lied.

" WHAT? YOU JUST SAID YOU COULDN'T SEE HIM. BOBBY DOESN'T EXIST!"

" WELL NOW, I CAN. BOBBY EXISTS...IF NOT, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE NUMEROUS TIMES LUCY'S BEEN TALKING TO HERSELF?"

" BOBBY DOESN'T EXIST, YOU IDIOT."

Before either of them could throw their first punch, they heard some sniffles.

" Bobby exists…he's here!" , Lucy sobbed and pointed at the vacant seat next to Happy. " You're so mean!"

Fearing that her wails would be louder, Gray immediately surrendered, nodding his head ferociously, " Er…yeah, Bobby exists! Bobby exists!"

Happy who was afraid that Lucy would suddenly hug him in the midst of her cries, immediately placed an empty plate beside him. " Ahhh….Lucy, look! Bobby's eating his cake! Stop crying or…you'll ruin his appetite."

" No, he's not. He's too upset to eat. Gray hurt him with his words!"

" Argh, I'M SORRY, BOBBY!" Gray apologised to the air and Lucy stopped her sniffles.

" Oh okay, Bobby's fine now..ermm…your clothes…"

" AHHHH!"

" You guys are sooo weird."

" Takes one to know one." Happy mumbled to himself.

" Happy, what did you say?" Lucy stared at him.

" Ermm…nothing. Have some tea, Bobby!" _I can't believe Lucy still have imaginary friends at the age of seventeen. _Happy thought as he handed a cup to 'Bobby'.

" WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT, ASH BRAIN?"

" I'm laughing at your luck. To think that you even wanted to place a bet on Speedie…he'll probably be jinxed to lose! Not that you ever won any matches anyway. Haha….ARGH, YOU PUNCHED ME!  
THAT'S IT!"

Both lunged at each other's throats. Within seconds, sparks of fire and tiny blocks of ice were thrown about.

" Wow, so pretty!" Lucy commented on the scene in front of her.

" Aye….who do you think will win?"

" Bobby. He's on top of Natsu's head!" Lucy giggled to herself.

Happy could only secretly swear inside his heart that he would fly Lucy to a psychologist once they receive their salary. So much for the retail therapy that Lucy's been raving about.

* * *

**R&R PLEASE :D**


	4. Day 1 Part III

**Hello! It's been a long time since I last updated because I prefer writing longer chapters. To all my reviewers, thank you for your effort! Hope you'll like this chapter and review please :)**

* * *

"Cana, where's Natsu and the rest?" Mirajane asked. The gang had mysteriously disappeared after the fight, leaving behind broken furniture, a tea set and a bar top that was clawed beyond repair.

"Look at what Happy did!" Mirajane fumed.

"They went to the zoo. As for the table, I'm sure you have seen more severe damages before." Cana said as she pointed to the area where Natsu and Gray previously fought.

"I'm not referring to that. Not only did Happy tagged along with Natsu and Lucy for the mission when I specifically told him not to, he didn't stop Natsu from reading the paper! Now, look at this mess…" Mirajane pointed to the neatly arranged tea set.

"Lucy should've been dating instead of playing with this! Argh, do you know how much time I spent convincing Lucy that it'd be okay to leave Erza and Gray and go on a mission with Natsu? She thought it was mean to separate the team. There won't be another opportunity like this and….and THEY RUINED IT." Mirajane broke into tears.

"Errr…I'm sure this is the least of their worries now."

"But…my efforts!" Mirajane continued crying as she collected some mugs and went into the kitchen.

Cana heaved a sigh of relief as she watched Mirajane walked away. Having someone crying beside you ruins the mood to drink. She was about to take another gulp when she spotted a semi-naked Gray walking towards her.

" Yo." Gray grinned. "Pick any beverage you like, my treat."

"So...how much have you won?"

"Not much…50 Jewels." Gray said as he tapped the table with his fingers.

On hearing that, Cana spat out her drink unglamorously.

"So little? What's with the smirk? I thought you won a lot! Ahh…I see, you're trying to trick me so that you won't have to pay my share for covering up for you guys. To think you guys would even dare to defy Erza's orders of looking after Lucy _properly. _You know, Erza's been on the rampage ever since she heard that you, Natsu, Lucy and Happy went to the gambling den secretly and caused a huge fight last week. If she hears that you guys are gambling again…"

"Oi, oi, oi…stop it with your threats. Like I said, I won 50 jewels. And it was the damn cat's fault for provoking Lucy saying that she's unlucky. The next thing I knew, she dragged us there to prove her luck. In the end, she won but that flame-brain lost twice the amount. Then, he had to blame the dealers for cheating which obviously ended in a fight." Gray shivered at the thought of Erza reprimanding them for ruining Fairy Tail's reputation.

"Tch…like I care. Quick…spit it out. How much have you won?" Cana banged her hand on the bar top.

"I told you…it's 50 jewels."

"Then what's with the smirk? Didn't you bet on Speedie?" Cana glared at Gray.

"Nah, he was sick today and only small bets were allowed. Your source of information is horrible"

"Eh? What did you bet on?"

"To tell the truth, I can't remember. All I did was followed Lucy's instincts. You know, she's so accurate in predicting the results of every race. Moral of the story is not to refrain from gambling but to follow one who is very lucky. Not that I'm an addict anyway, that idiot dared me to try my luck." Gray gave an evil grin.

"Well, you sure look like you won a lot."

"Hee…I won 50 jewels but Natsu lost 50 jewels."

"Hmmm…so that's what all this is about. Speaking of which, where are they?"

"In the toilet. That idiot is probably crying over his loss."

_Gray-1, Natsu-0. _Gray thought as he laughed silently.

"By the way, your clothes…"

"AHHHH"

* * *

"LUCY, ARE YOU DONE?" Natsu called out.

"Yeah, in a minute. I'm arranging my crown." Lucy yelled from inside of the ladies' washroom.

"Natsu, what are going to do? There goes our groceries money for next, next week." Happy sighed despondently as the pair stood outside waiting for Lucy.

"Nah, it's all right. We can always crash Lucy's place again. But seriously, I can't believe I lost to Gray. I betted on every number Lucy said! Argh…why the odd numbers?"

"Because Gray said so!" Lucy had come out and was standing next to them.

"Gray?"

"Yeah, he asked me for some numbers and I gave him the even ones. Although I don't know why he asked me to tell you the odd numbers but he's so nice!" Lucy beamed as she pointed to her icy crown.

"He gave me this crown!"

"GRAYYYYYYYYYY!"

Natsu burst into flames and charged at the ice mage, leaving behind Lucy and a crying Happy.

"Why are you so oblivious to everything?" Happy wailed as he thought of the number of weeks he had to endure without his fishy meals.

* * *

"Look at the way bunny girl eats. Nibbles, nibbles like a bunny and you wonder why I called her a bunny." Gajeel said to Levy as he nodded his head in the direction of Lucy who was sitting in front of him.

"Well, I'm sure it's the way she's bought up to be a lady." Levy replied as she looked at Lucy who was eating her spaghetti without any trace on red sauce on her face. There's not even one drop of sauce on her lips. She, Gajeel, Wendy and their two cats had gathered at the table that Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy were sitting to have lunch together.

"Wow, Lucy is so cute!" Wendy whispered to Gajeel and Levy before turning her attention to the blonde child.

"Hello, my name is Wendy and this is Charles." Wendy put out her hand for a handshake. Lucy took her hand and smiled. "My name's Lucy and this is Happy." _Since when am I your cat?_ Happy looked at Lucy from the corner of his eyes before deciding to spend his time admiring Charles.

"Wendy, you have such a pretty cat!" Lucy gave Charles a look of admiration, causing the cat to blush which didn't go unnoticed by Happy. Suddenly, he made a horrible realisation.

"Lucy, why did you call Charles a cat and me, a stuffed toy when you first met me? Why's Lily a cat when he looks like a teddy bear? It's so unfair!" Happy whined which earned him a glare from Gajeel and Lily.

"Happy…you're naked. Real cats wear clothes." Lucy answered seriously.

" GAHHH…I'M NOT WEARING ANY CLOTHES?" Happy stared at his own body and indeed, there wasn't any. "AND SINCE WHEN DO REAL CATS NEED CLOTHES?"

"Don't they always? Mama used to have a Persian cat and I always changed her clothes! She has boots, hats and everything. The only cats that don't wear any are those stuffed ones in my nursery."

Gajeel and Gray burst into laughter on hearing Lucy's explanation.

"Heard that, salamander? Your cat can't beat my cat! Happy is not even properly dressed. Opps, I forgot, he doesn't own any clothes!" Gajeel taunted the blue feline who was currently hugged and consoled by Lucy.

"HAHA...All these times you're mocking me about walking in my boxers, your cat's naked!"

"CAT'S NAKED!" Both Gajeel and Gray mocked at the same time. "ARGH, YOU PUNCHED ME?"

"HAPPY'S THE CATTIEST OF THE CAT! TAKE THAT, STRIPPER!"

"PREPARE TO EAT STEEL." Gajeel stretched out his metal hand and punched Natsu in the face.

"ICE-MAKE HAMMER!"

" AHHHH!" Levy, Wendy, Lucy and their cats screamed as they fled from the table.

* * *

After the fight was settled, the gang (excluding Wendy and Charles) moved to another table, leaving behind another set of broken furniture. Little Lucy was happily playing with a set of Team Natsu figurines Max had given her earlier.

"This doll is so pretty! I tie my hair like this on alternate days!" Lucy showed her own figurine to Happy.

"Aye." Happy agreed before muttering "narcissism".

"Let me demonstrate a trick Max showed me just now." Lucy said enthusiastically.

"Cast off!" The clothes on the Lucy figurine dropped off immediately. Gray blushed at the sight of Lucy in bikini whereas Gajeel smirked. Natsu was too ignorant to notice the inappropriateness of the situation. Levy simply watched in horror.

For the sake of her friend's dignity, Levy grabbed the figurine and ran off. "She's…er…flying off" Levy shouted as she disappeared from sight.

"Flying? Wait, Levy…she's going for a swim!" Sadly, the blue hair mage had vanished from her sight.

"SHOOSH." Lucy made the Erza figurine jumped with blade in hand and brought it down on the Natsu and Gray figurines.

"KYAAAA!" Both the Natsu and Gray figurines were knocked down.

Lucy then moved the Natsu figurine to a pool of red wine that Gray accidentally spilt when he was quarrelling with Natsu. "Help me, Gray! I'm bleeding…ahhh. Erza's too strong!"

All the boys and their cats paled at the play Lucy was enacting.

"Lucy's always weird. And scary." Happy commented.

"She can be so violent sometimes." Gray recalled the time when Lucy kicked him for barging into her house.

"HEY! THAT'S NOT THE WAY! I'M STRONGER THAN ERZA!" Natsu grabbed his own figurine and punched the redhead doll.

"Argh, how childish can you get?" Gray lamented.

"Problem with that, kid?"

"Kid? You're the one playing with dolls."

"TAKE THAT, ICE MORON!"

Within seconds, another fight started and obviously, Gajeel was dragged in, along with some guild members.

"A MANLY MAN DOESN'T PLAY WITH DOLLS!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Poor Lucy watched the fight in horror. The first time she witnessed the fight between Gray and Natsu was an interesting experience. The second time, however, she had to forego her lunch and run for her life. Now, another fight had started.

"Happy, let's hide under the table."

"Aye."

* * *

Bixslow's eyes twitched as he observed the scene in front of him.

No, he wasn't concerned with the fight. If possible, he never would want to join in anyway.

Well, at least not for now when there' something more interesting to captivate his attention

Like…

Lucy's set of figurines.

Bixslow rest his head on his palm in annoyance. He silently cursed Max for not giving him one set even though he and everyone in this guild know that he plans to become a puppet master when he retires.

He had collected so many dolls but no figurines so far. Worse, they were produced by Fairy Tail, his own guild and yet, he doesn't have them.

Bixslow fumed as he watched the mini version of cosplay maniac and the blue cat hid under the table, leaving behind the set of figurines he so desperately wanted.

_CHANCE! Now those babies are mine._

"Aren't these Lucy's? Better put them away." Mirajane grabbed them and walked away.

_MY BABIES!_

_

* * *

_

By the middle of the afternoon, Lucy and Happy had fallen asleep at one corner. Happy was extremely exhausted after playing with Lucy for a morning. He had begged Mirajane for help but she was still angry at her for god knows what reason. Natsu was always fighting so he's useless in looking after a child. Gray not only refused to help him, he gave Lucy tons of sweet stuff, hoping that she will be hyperactive. Thankfully, he managed to destroy everything before Lucy could take a bite. This, of course, angered Gray but he had Natsu to fend him off.

"Lucy, wake up! Wake up! Lucy!"

Lucy stirred and opened one of her eyes. "Gray?"

Gray grinned evilly as he pulled Lucy into an upright position. "Hey, do you want another crown?"

"Huh? Crown…what crown? Oh…Nope." Lucy shook her head vigorously. She was nearly drowned by a lady who flooded the entire place with her tears, chanting something along the lines of Gray-sama and Lucy's product of love and how her 30 babies were gone. Were it not for Happy who threw her crown onto the mage's head and flew her away, both of them would've dead by now. It wasn't worth the trouble to obtain an item that would melt in half an hour anyway.

"How about..."

"I'm back."

"AH!" Gray screamed when Erza came out of nowhere and stood behind him

"Hmmm…you're doing a good job. No fighting and Lucy's still in one piece. I'm so proud of you." Erza grabbed Gray's head and banged it against her armour.

"Here, have two slices. Leave the rest for me." Erza gave a dazed Gray a box before making her way to the bar.

Gray smirked evilly as he turned to Lucy.

"Lucy, have a CAKE." He emphasized on the last word loudly so that Happy could hear.

Just like he predicted, the cat jumped up and shrieked, "CAKE?"

"NO CAKES FOR LUCY!" The cat went crazy and karate-chopped the box before kicking it onto the floor. Bits of the cake flew into the air before falling onto the table and floor. Gray gave a wicked smile while Lucy was simply too stunned to speak.

Happy heaved a sigh of relief which ended as soon as he realised a strawberry on his feet.

Strawberry shortcake which could only be…Erza's.

Happy turned his head slowly to face Erza. Not only was she glaring intensively at him, she was sharpening her sword simultaneously.

"Keen to go to hell, huh?"

Happy screamed and headed straight into Lucy's arms.

* * *

"So…what was the council's reply?" Mirajane asked as she wiped a glass.

"It's a prank."

"Huh?"

Erza sighed before continuing, "The council had to transport a pile of classified documents. They needed a distraction which was the _valuable _spell book so that potential thieves would shift their attention towards it rather than the actual goods that they were transporting. Everything found inside the book was pure scribbles. They didn't mean it to be an actual spell."

Everyone stared at Erza in horror until Levy broke the silence.

"So you mean the book wasn't written by Sieghart? It's not genuine?" Levy was on the verge of tears.

"That isn't the issue here! Lucy is a child. How is supposed to date?" Mirajane banged a wooden mug that she had just cleaned on the bar table.

"Sis…I don't think this is the issue either." Lisanna timidly voiced out.

"Precisely…have you thought of what will happen to our incomes with Lucy like this? And the council wasn't even planning to compensate us!" Erza fumed and banged the table.

"THAT'S NOT THE ISSUE! Oh gosh, all along…I've been admiring useless scribbles!" Levy wailed.

Before you knew it, the three of them, or rather two of them (Mirajane and Erza) started bickering as Levy was too choked with tears to participate in the argument.

"STOP!" Marakov had finally decided to speak up. Upon hearing his voice, Mirajane and Erza stopped and looked at him. Master sighed.

"Is there any way to reverse the spell?"

"Oh…about that, the council said there is one but they need some time to locate it from their library. They'll probably notify us in a week, at the latest. However, we must make sure she's still alive and doesn't change drastically, both physically and personality wise. If not, she may not be the Lucy we know before Natsu stupidly cast the spell."

"Huh? Doesn't the spell reverse everything back to normal?"

"Well, not if she's dead. You can't bring a dead person alive. Similarly, if she becomes obese now and doesn't manage to slim down in future, she wouldn't have the stamina to become a mage." Erza had noticed the amount of sweets Mirajane putinto Lucy's pocket. The sweets were falling onto the floor as she walked around the guild. Thankfully, Lucy was more interested in playing with Happy than indulging in the treats.

"Basically, this is a time spell so if Lucy were to change drastically in the past, it will have an influence on her future."

"Hmmm…this will be a fairly easy task then. Lucy is rather resilient to changes, right? She has joined the guild for almost six months and she still refused to participate in any brawls!" Lisanna said optimistically.

" I hope so…if not, Lucy may not even meet Natsu! That'll be ter-" Before Mirajane could finish her sentence, a loud burst of laughter echoed throughout the guild, causing everyone to turn their attention to the source.

"Lucy, do it again!"

"Aye! It's so hilarious!" Happy rolled on the table, clutching his stomach.

"It's so Gray right?"

"Yeah, yeah, do it again, please!"

Erza, Mirajane and Lisanna watched in horror as Lucy mimicked Gray's actions. She put on her coat which Wendy gave her before throwing it on a chair and kicking off her flats.

"Ahhh! My clothes!" Lucy wailed out with her hands and one of her legs in the air.

Natsu and Happy burst into laughter again. Natsu laughed and banged the table several times while Happy almost plummeted off the table.

"Do it ag-" Natsu was flung to the far end of the guild before he could finish his sentence. Erza grabbed his coat and knocked him against the wall.

"Arghhh…wha-at…di-d I do this time?"

"You two are a bad influence on Lucy." The titannia hissed out.

As for Happy, he didn't manage to get to Lucy in time. Previously, he was lucky to escape from ALL of Erza's punishments just by putting himself in Lucy's arms. Mirajane had caught him by his tail.

"Lucy, I'll borrow Happy for a minute." Mirajane smiled and asked in a sweet voice.

"Lu-" Mirajane slapped Happy's mouth shut. "He meant the loo. I have a surprise for him in there. Don't worry, I'll… we'll be back."

With that, Mirajane disappeared out of view. Less than a few seconds, a sharp scream and a couple of things clashing onto the floor could be heard.

"Hmmm….judging from the screams, must be a great surprise right? Happy sounds as if he's so excited!" Lucy spoke to no one in particular. Everyone was too stunned (from Lucy's mimic of Gray and the violence that followed) to reply.

"What did I miss out?" A semi-naked Gray who came from nowhere asked.

Erza charged at him at full speed, punched his stomach before kicking him right through a wall.

"PUT ON YOUR CLOTHES." Erza roared.

Unfortunately for Gray, he landed right in front of Mirajane.

"There…the culprit is here!" Happy pointed at Gray and flew off.

Gray was still in a daze from Erza's attack as Mirajane advanced towards him with a pan in hand.

Smack!

"If you're not helping, don't you interfere with my plans!"

Smack!

"How dare you strip in front of Lucy!"

Smack!

"What if she becomes like you in future? Striping here and there…"

Smack!

"She'll have lots of suitors!"

Smack!

"Natsu will be out of the picture."

Smack!

* * *

Sometime later, Little Lucy was playing doctor with a set of toy medical instruments someone had kindly left for her.

"She's sooo cute!" Levy cooed as she watched Lucy test her stethoscope on her three patients. Gray was bandaged to the point of being almost mummified. Erza had decided to bandage all of Gray, leaving only the head exposed to prevent any stripping incidents. Natsu suffered some injuries as well but his was not as intensive as Gray's.

Out of the three, Happy was the luckiest. He only suffered from emotional trauma.

"Awww…Happy, you'll be all right. Mirajane said you're having a cold." Lucy hugged and rubbed her face on the shivering bundle of blue fur.

"Sooo cute!" Levy cooed again.

"What's so cute about her being a doctor? She has cosplayed so many times before." Gajeel quipped.

"She's a child now!"

"So?"

Not bothering to reply Gajeel, Levy beckoned Lucy to come over.

"Lu-chan, how are the patients?"

"Hmmm…Erza said Gray is sick…sick in the mind." Lucy pointed at her head to emphasize the phrase.

Lucy beamed before continuing, "This is so fun! I've never had real patients before. All along, my patients are my stuffed animals. How I wish there are more patients."

"Sadist."

Levy glared at Gajeel before turning to Lucy. Oh no, the child is frowning.

"Lu-chan, please ignore what he said. He didn't mean-" Levy stopped when she noticed Lucy was more interested in hugging Happy. Lucy suddenly stopped and turned to her, "I am a doctor and I have three patients but no nurses."

"Well, if you like, Gajeel could be the nur-"

Gajeel spat out the metal bars that he was chewing. "WHAT?"

Before he could continue, someone crashed onto their table.

It was Juvia, all decked out in a nurse uniform.

"Doctor Lucy, let me the nurse!" Lucy simply nodded for she was too afraid of the maniac that she had met earlier.

"GRAY-SAMA, NURSE JUVIA IS HERE!" The water mage screamed in joy as she headed towards the mummified Gray.

Lucy heaved a sigh of relief as soon as Juvia left.

"That was so scary."

"Tch."

Lucy whipped her head at Gajeel.

"What?"

"Don't you think she's scary? She- YOU'RE EATING METAL!" Lucy screamed, causing everyone to look at them.

"So?"

"YOU'RE EATING METAL!"

"YOU'RE EATING METAL!"

Lily, who was sitting beside Gajeel and watching the whole scene in silence, finally decided to speak up. "Don't be surprise. If cats can talk, people can eat steel right?"

"I guess you're right…but what does metal taste like?" Lucy stared at Gajeel's plate of metal bars.

"Shoo…haven't you heard of the phrase curiosity kills the cat?"

Lucy stared at Gajeel for a few seconds before pushing Happy behind her.

"Goodbye Lily. I guess I won't see you again."

"Huh? WAIT-that's not what I meant."

"But-you just said a cat will be killed."

"Argh, talking to you makes my brain hurt."

"Hey, talking to you makes my neck hurt too." Lucy was clearly annoyed.

"Sooo cute." Levy giggled as she watched her two friends interacting.

* * *

**RnR!**

**RnR!**

**RnR!**

**THANK YOU :)**


	5. Day 1 Part IV

Natsu and Happy sighed in boredom as they watched their blonde friend tottering here and there. The little girl was weaving her way around a huge stash of presents scattered around them, stacked so high that they could form a castle if she wanted to. Lucy muttered to herself as she scratched her head, pondering over which presents to put inside her newly acquired bag that Natsu was scrutinizing in detail.

"Lucy is so lucky," Happy finally spoke up after observing the scene in front of him for several minutes. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a key-chain that was in the shape of a fish. He then gave a furtive glance at Lucy who was still busy talking to herself (or may be Bobby) before deciding it was safe to shove it in his own bag without her realising.

"Yeah and she doesn't even have to ask", Natsu snorted as he held up a backpack that was modelled after his blue feline friend. Max had apparently given it to her when he noticed that she had been staring longingly at it for five minutes.

"Aye, it's modelled after me and I don't even own one."

The cat sighed as he rested his head on the table. "I want presents too. Wouldn't it be nice if Mira gives me a fish every time I look at it?", Happy salivated at the idea.

"That's it!", Natsu banged the table with his fist, causing Lucy and Happy to look at him.

"Lucy gets free stuff because she's cute right? What if we use her to...heehee", Natsu chuckled evilly and rubbed his hands in glee.

Happy, who caught his chain of thoughts, straightened up immediately and gave his partner-in-crime a knowing smile.

_Lucy. Fishes. Lucy. _

_._

* * *

_._

5 minutes later at the bar…

"Make up your mind! What do you want me to do? And you better hold up on your end of the deal." Lucy twirled the bar stool that she was sitting on and at the same time, looked at Natsu and Happy who were hiding and bickering below the bar top.

"No, Natsu. All she needs to do is to stare at the fish."

"What? No way, stare at the mug, Lucy. Oh yeah, don't forget the chicken too."

"Natsu, I want my fish! You know what, just let Lucy decide." Happy immediately put on his cutest, most adorable pleading look which never failed to charm anyone (apart from Erza and may be Mira who had recently undergone a temperament change recently).

Naturally, Lucy fell for his charms.

"I'll do anything, anything you want, Happy!" She hugged the blue cat.

"Hey, that's unfair!" Natsu protested and put on his best cat act – he lifted his hands in the air, with his palms bent downwards. He had intended to reproduce the highly demanded Happy effect but because he's inherently not a blue cat, his plan only caused Lucy to wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"Ew. Stop imitating Happy! It's horrifying."

"Aye, it's an insult to cats." Happy nodded his head before directing Lucy's attention to a plate of fish on the counter. It was so near yet so far!

"Ok, fine. You win. Just get the fish first and then get the whiskey and chicken."

"Okay." Lucy stared at the fish that was lying near a sink. After a minute, Natsu was getting impatient. Oh, how badly did he want a drink and a meal to quench his thirst and hunger! However, it seemed that he would not be getting any soon unless Happy managed to get his fish first.

"It's not working. Lucy, pout at the fish!" Natsu commanded.

"Pout? How? What does it mean?" Lucy stared at him in confusion. Natsu demonstrated by puckering his lips but was rudely interrupted by Happy.

"Natsu, it's not going to work on the fish!" Happy shrieked as he waved his hands madly in the air. How dense could Natsu be? Sex appeal (not that Lucy had any to begin with) would never be effective on a dead fish!

Happy sighed heavily when he noticed the hopelessness of the current situation they were in. Natsu was clearly in oblivion as he was still teaching Lucy to pout at the fish. It would seem that for him to get his meal, he would have to take control and be the leader that he was destined to be – Happy the Great. With an air of authority which had materialized from nowhere, Happy flew up to Lucy and placed one of her hands on her hips before pushing her back slightly forward.

"Hmmm…that's much better." Happy surveyed his handiwork before commanding, "Now, pout! No, not at the fish. Look at someone and pout or say fish!"

On hearing the instructions given, Lucy immediately twirled her chair to face Gray who was sitting and sipping his beer at the other end of bar with Cana. The poor fellow desperately needed a drink to forget the pain of been mummified by Erza. There was nothing greater than a cold beer to cool the hot and oozing pain of his wounds.

"Fish!" Lucy shouted happily at the top of her voice before puckering her lips, causing everyone nearby to look at her.

Then, it was a moment of silence before everyone grasped in shock and horror at what the child was trying to do. Gray spat out his beer and flung his mug at Natsu. "Bastard, what the hell are you teaching her?"

Natsu immediately jumped in the air and lunged for the mug, landing with amazing agility. Even though it was Gray's mug, he was too thirsty to care. Beggars could not be choosers so he simply took huge gulps of the drink to quench his thirst.

Happy, on the other hand, had yet to receive his fish so he was extremely disappointed. His shoulders slumped in despair before bursting into tears, wailing, "That's it. Gray is gay."

Gray immediately grabbed his stool and flung it at Happy, causing the cat to fly several feet away. Unfortunately for the cat, Gray had thrown it with so much of his strength that the chair was indented into his face.

Cana, who was slightly tipsy, burst out laughing before waving her mug high in the air. Some of the beer was spilt on the floor but Cana was too high to care.

"It rhymes – Gray is gay!" Cana started to sing and even tried to cajole Lucy to sing along. However, little Lucy was too distraught over her blue feline friend who was trying his hardest to pull the chair out of his face.

"Cana, that's not the issue here! Look at what Natsu is teaching Lucy!" Everyone roared.

"That's not the issue too! I have a chair in my face! Help!", came Happy's retort.

Mira-jane who was a bystander all the while, suddenly banged her fist against the table she was clearing. "So that's how she learnt all those moves for her sex appeal."

Erza nodded in understanding, "I see. The way she turned out in future is because of Gray's & Natsu's influences."

"What does that have to do with me?", Gray yelled before pointing at Natsu, "It's all his fault. I didn't teach her any provocative moves!"

"But you strip all the time!", someone in the crowd shouted out.

Mira-jane tilted her head in contemplation, "May be that is the reason why Lucy wear skimpy clothing all the time."

"Well, if that's the case, we're all for it!", Macao and Wakaba shouted in unison.

"Me too!" Mira-jane yelled happily before explaining in detail, "How foolish was I to think that Gray's stripping tendency would have a negative impact on her future! Oh my, he's actually a positive influence because without him, Lucy won't be our Lucy."

"You guys are craz-", Gray replied but before he could finish his sentence, Natsu had flung some clothes at him because he had unconsciously stripped again. Within seconds, the two started a brawl and like all other times, the fight got out of proportion and everyone was pulled in it. The only ones that were not involved in the fight were Cana (who was currently still laughing at the rhyme), Happy and Lucy.

"Everyone seems to be gay." Lucy blurted out suddenly. Everyone stopped to stare at Lucy before realising that by gay, she had meant happy.

"What? Gay means happy or joyful right?" Lucy all along had a good command of English. She knew that because she was often praised by her tutor for writing and speaking in grammatically correct sentences. However, with so many pairs of eyes scrutinising her, she was having some doubts about her language capabilities.

"Of course!", Cana squealed in delight before pointing at Happy who had finally managed to pull out the chair. "So Happy's name is equivalent to gay right?"

"I suppose so." Lucy's eyes darted nervously back and forth between Cana and the huge crowd. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes, you did! I'm not gay. Stop giving me weird names!" Happy groaned in despair. He had always been the one to give Lucy bizarre names but now, it seemed that bad karma had caught up with him. For all the embarrassment that he had caused her, little Lucy was returning the favour tenfold.

_Kami-sama. _Happy prayed silently in his head. _Please save me from Lucy and some fishes please! _

_I promise I won't tease Lucy anymore._

Unfortunately, Happy is a cat so he belongs to the same family as the leopard and as the saying goes, 'A leopard never changes its spots', Happy is highly unlikely to uphold his promise. As a result, he would continually be subjected to extreme little Lucy torture.

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**RnR! Thank you. RnR! Thank you :)**

**Next update: **I'm not sure. It's been almost a year since I last updated. This story is pure crack - something that I would write on when homework drives me nuts or when I hit a writer's block in my the other story. Now that the holidays are here, I hope I can churn out a chapter and update every 2 weeks.

Till then, you are always welcome to read my Naruto story that I'm currently working on :)


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